2024 MEN’S NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- March 27-30, 2024
- IUPUI Natatorium, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
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Leon Marchand demolished the US Open and NCAA record in the 500 freestyle, swimming a 4:02.31. For context, the NCAA record had been lowered by a total of 2.6 seconds in the last 29 years. Marchand just lowered it by 3.9 seconds.
Let’s just call it what it was…. Go out fast and hang on! Great swim!
His 200 split would have been just outside the invite line for the 200 FR.
Besides the final result, the more impressive part of this race is Leon’s aerobic conditioning. He spent over 40% of the race underwater!?
every breakout was followed with a breath on the first stroke…it did not messed up the momentum. Unbelievable!
It’s very rare to see a combination of elite free style speed and all-world underwaters, likely because if you are as good off the wall as Marchand/Phelps, you aren’t picking the 500 at a collegiate level.
have to wonder if the reason why this record was so monumental is because the prev 500 record was not on par with other events? the only area where the US has not been internationally dominant in recent years is mid distance free, especially the 400. wonder if that translates
Could be that the best people for this race were doing 200IM the entire time 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
I remember with Clark Smith broke the 500 free record, he was interviewed where he said that as the record had been(and still was) 4:08 for over 20 years, that he thought it was a soft record at that point.
Tom Dolan, the first guy to go 4:08 in 1995, went 3:48 LCM for the 400 free and 7:56 for the 800 from what I recall. Good times, but not dominant internationally. In 1995 the world record for the 400 free was Kieran Perkins’ 3:43. And of course Ian Thorpe soon followed, going 3:41 and later 3:40.
At the time, Dolan’s 4:08 seemed amazing, but I think Clark Smith had a point, especially in 2017 (when I think he… Read more »
I remember Tom Dolan, his freestyle turns could barely be called flip turns, which makes his freestyle record swims even more impressive.
The apparently somewhat limited improvement in ncaa distance swimming records since the 1990s maybe mainly the result of limited focus on the distance events by the colleges as the shorter events provide for the bulk of points in dual meets / conference / ncaa championships? Distance swimmers / distance training groups at colleges receiving less focus from coaching staff?
No sub 4:00? Is he a fraud??
Leon Marchfraud
Expose this bum
In my opinion, the race wasn’t optimally paced, his 250s were 1:57.94 and 2:04.37. It was quite apparent that he was very tired the last 150 yards. Makes you wonder if he could drop some more time if he’d even split it a little more… I remembered Michael Phelps did the same when he swam 400 freestyle LCM, he took it out hard and just hung on for dear life.